When you use “Uniques” as the counting method, Mixpanel counts unique users (distinct_id), not unique event instances.
So if the same user (same distinct_id) fires the same event twice with different properties, then:
- Both events are ingested and stored (they are not deduplicated just because properties differ). [Event deduplication]
- In a report using Uniques, that user will still be counted as 1 unique user for that event, because uniqueness is based on distinct_id. [Identity overview; Reports filters]
If you switched the counting method to Totals, then both event occurrences would be counted (2), even though they’re from the same user.
